


The Demon's Reaper

by Michaelstories95



Category: Gintama
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Living Together, Loving Support, Mental Healing, Past, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-27
Updated: 2019-05-27
Packaged: 2020-03-01 03:25:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18792022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Michaelstories95/pseuds/Michaelstories95
Summary: After getting everything with the Tendoshu resolved and finished Gintoki starts a relation ship with Tsukuyo. Sadly even though the battle's over, past battles still hunt Gintoki's mind. Can The Courtesan of Death reap the White Yasha's nightmares? Maybe sharing each other's painful pasts will help.





	The Demon's Reaper

**Author's Note:**

> The dynamic of the these two having such similar pasts is really special to me. It always feels like Sorachi made Tsukuyo to be with this moron. Sadly though even if the story ends on a good note, I'm sure if this was real Ginotki would deal with nightmares of his past for a long time. This is just a way for him to have help to deal with it.

_A large open grassland topped by the vibrant blue sky with a small sprinkle of fluffy white clouds. A gentle breeze causing the tiny blades of grass to whistle an out of tune sound that's still pleasing to the mind. A rustle of grass turns the gaze to Katsura, one the fellow Joui Four generals. Another Rustle and Takasugi comes into view with a scowl. Tatsuma walks up from behind swinging his arm over the shoulder of the Demon laughing about something stupid more than likely since no one else is sharing in his humor._   _Then it all goes white_

 

_Now he's on the battlefield. His friends lost in the chaos, he's lost in the chaos. Nothing but aliens, guns, swords, spears, blood, and dead bodies envelopes the atmosphere around the Demon. A quick sweep of his situation and he saw that he was surrounded by weird Miroku merged with Sasuke knock offs. One with no face covering walks up to the Demon holding two short swords, and a look of already knowing how this fight would end. A fresh body versus a slashed, stabbed, withered, and bone tired body. The outcome is obvious, but not still the Demon refused to make it easy. Then his opponent rushes towards him and the landscape flashes again._

 

_Now the Demon is being dragged towards the edge of a cliff before being pushed to walk by his own legs. He looks down and sees his two fellow comrades and schoolmates looking at him with utter shock on their faces. The Demon looks up and the white and beige outfit of the person he's been fighting to save this entire time. Then he sees the sandy brown hair ending at the mans lower back, his visage interrupted by the sound of a sword, his sword being handed to him. The Demon grabs it and releases him blade that's claimed the heads of hundreds of opponents during this war. Now it was about to claim the head of his most precious person, but he has too to keep his word to said person. Memories of his life since meeting him flashes in the Demon's mind while he walks up to his mentor. Training, playing, eating, sleeping, admiring, so many images of different emotions keeps playing, until that one. Watching him walk away with a smile on his face and his smallest finger sticking out for a vow between teacher and student. Now the Demon's standing behind him, sword in hand shaking with a mix of negative emotions. The Demon raises his arm preparing his strike to his caretaker, then in happens. Said caretaker turns his head, but the face he sees isn't the shard feature with eyes of soft almond irises. Instead its amethyst eyes, blonde hair, sharp features, a small kind smile, and a beautiful face with a scar going across and down the left eye_ _of the woman the Demon loves. Sweat starts to drop from the Demon's pores, but his sword is standing firm in his hand. The Demon tries to stop it, he claws at his hand, trying to stop the eventual swing that will end the woman in front of his and he can't stop it at all. The Demon's sword arm tenses, muscles flexing in the instinctive way for a powerful swing that's aimed right at her neck, but as soon as the blade reaches her skin the landscape flashes one more time._

 

**-**

 

Gintoki wakes up with a jumped feeling sweat covering his body, breath being pumped out violently, heart pounding hard than the drum of Takemikazuchi during a thunderstorm. His eyes are darting back and forth across his room. Just open space with damaged walls and his usual outfit hanging up. He looks down at his body, not seeing any of the injuries he was feeling in his dream, then the last image pops in his mind. He turns frantically and doesn't see the person who should be there and rises up in a major panic. He looks at the clock and sees that its two in the morning and that she should be here next to him. He rushes to his clothes and the second his fingertip touches the fabric his door opens.

 

"Gintoki?" Her voice says almost blasting away all his anxieties. "What are ya doin up ata time like dis?

 

Hearing that country dialect that she can't control sometimes late at night clutches his chest as he rushes towards her and pulls her into his arms. He hears her quick and sharp intake of breath helps to make him confirm more that she's really here and that he's not dreaming anymore. He backs away enough that she's still in his embrace but he can see her heavily blushed face also covered in shock. He can't do much but smile at her even while she still continues to ramble confused about what he's doing.

 

"I love you Tsukuyo." Is the only thing he responds with to her rapid firing questions. Then he reaches down and gives a quick kiss to her, which completes her shut down of speech.

 

Instead she returns his embrace and pulls them closer to each other. She leans her ear on his chest, reminding her of when he saved her from her teacher years ago. After a few minuets she looks up at him only to see him looking distant when he returns her gaze and she understands his actions.

 

"What did you see this time Gintoki?" She asks reaching her hand up to caress his cheek.

 

At first he just looks down to the floor, but after a few moments he looked back at her and smiled. "Let's take a seat all right?" They walk into the living room of the Odd Jobs Gin-Chan building and head to the couch that Gintoki used to always use as a bed years ago. He sits down first, and before Tsukuyo can sit next to him he pulls her into his lap and warps his arms around her stomach. He places his head on her back and closes his eyes easily seeing her face in the darkness. She places a hand on his wrist and he feels the compassion in the touch helping him release his experiences. "I was dreaming of some of the moments in the war again."

 

This makes Tsukuyo jolt and stare at Gintoki, not from the fact that he told her about revisioning the war. It wasn't the first time, but it wasn't something she'd find out until days after it happened, not minuets after it happened. She understands why, after running away from something for more than a decade ago, then having that past thrown in his face while his new family and life were threatned completely, she wouldn't want to talk about memories of it either. So far she only was given privy to his meeting of his teacher, his friends and the trouble they got into. Then he would jump to his later encounters with his friends Katsura and Tatsuma, and his fights with Takasugi, but he never talked about what happened that got him into the war, or what happened during it. He'd tell her he had a nightmare, days go by then he would say it was about the war, then she would stay by his side while he thinks through it and tells her he's okay, but this feels different. He feels open. 

"Do you want to talk about?" She asks in a low whisper.

He remains quiet for a few minuets before releasing a breath. "Yeah, I do."

She turns in his lap so that she can see his face and grabs hold of it. "Then lets do that, start wherever you want to."

He sits in silence again with his eyes closed recounting everything that happened, then he starts. "It starts with just sitting with everyone, Zura, Tatsuma, Takasugi. Then I was in the middle of the last fight I had before...." He pauses looking down, his grip on her waist tightening a little. "before I was captured. Then I was at the location that ended the war for me, for us."

He stops again, looking down at his hands that are slightly shaking. He takes a deep breath before starting again.

"The Tendoshu cut a deal with me back then, a choice. Let everyone die, or kill my teacher and save my friends."  

That statement freezes Tsukuyo and leaves her staring at Gintoki with eyes filled with horror. She always believed he understood her pain of losing her teacher since it was revealed to her by Oboro, but this is completely different. Tsukuyo did what she felt had to be done to save Gintoki, but it actuality her master probably wasn't going to attack him in the first place. She went through with it because it was obvious that he wanted to die, not because it was either him or the man her heart yearned for. That pain is much deeper than hers, and she doesn't know if she can heal it. 

Her thoughts are stopped by Gintoki continuing. "At the moment where I had choose to kill Shoyo, my memories of meeting him and us traveling around finding a home flashed before me. It made me consider just letting us all die together instead of being the one responsible for taking the life of the man who raised me for the past six or seven years. Then I reached him, and I remembered a promise. The promise I made when they took him. The promise to protect our friends, my friends. The friends that stood by my side the whole time since joining the school, and that's when I knew I had to do it. I had to kill Shoyo."

Tsukuyo feels her chest tighten up than the bond between cells. just imagining the pain and terror that would of went through this man's mind and body when he made that decision. To keep his word, even when it would cost him everything, his friends, his self, and the man who gave him the opportunity to make those connections. 

Once again, Gintoki broke her contemplations as he tightened his grip on her waist and continued recounting the dream. "I raised my sword prepared to end it all, but I hesitated, memories hitting my brain like bullets to my sanity. In that moment Shoyo turns to look at me, but...." 

He stops and Tsukuyo feels his body start to tremble. He drops his head lower than it already was hanging and his breathing sped up. Fear and anticipation started to build in Tsukuyo's heart afraid of what telling her the next part will do to the man. 

She grabs his face and places her forehead against his feeling the beads of sweat starting to build on it. "Its okay Gintoki, you don't have to-" 

"Shoyo's face isn't the one I saw when he turned and looked at me." He interjects making her raise her head from his. He picks his up and looks her in the eye, where she can practically see the dread in the crimson orbs. "It was yours. Then I brought my sword down and as soon as it reached your neck I woke up and you were gone. That's why I was freaking out, and was so relieved to see you standing in front of me. I was scared I destroyed something life changing again, slashed away someone who gave my life meaning again." 

Tsukuyo doesn't say anything, she just gets up and drags Gintoki to his feet. He looks down at her in confusion wondering if his revelation upset her, or was she as scared as he was of what he could do to her someday. Waiting for her to walk away Gintoki tenses his body, but instead she just squeezes him into an air tight hug. After about thirty seconds of the bone grating hold she releases him, and he looks down to see her face displaying a smile. Not like the one he saw in his dream, accepting and resolved. This one was loving, caring, and one of the most beautiful things he'd ever seen.

"Don't worry Gintoki," Tsukuyo starts while caressing his cheeks. "you've done nothing more than keep the things precious to you safe. You've been through hell and back multiple time, and each time you gained a new thing to protect. The Joui, Odd Jobs, the Shinsingumei, Yagyuu's, Kabuki district, Yoshiwara, The Shogun and almost all of Edo. Sure there was always help, but the main person swinging his sword to protect the people important to him. That man is you Gintoki, people believe in you because of your strength, so believe in that strength as well and protect yourself from those nightmares. And remember, you've got Lady Shinigami right by your side to make sure you overcome this enemy."

Gintoki just stares at the woman who stabbed her way into his heart. In her eyes is nothing but resolve and love, that shows that she meant everything she just spoke. Then the images of all the people he's fight along side flashes through from the two troublesome teenagers he watched over all the way to the teacher he helped to free from his eternal past. It helps to strengthen the belief in the words he just heard, and it helps to alleviate him of the fears plaguing his mind when he woke up. With all these people at his side it makes sense that he can make it past the blood stained past he's been running away from this whole time. 

"Thank you Tsukuyo, for reminding me that I'm not alone in this fight. That I have the best support in the world to handle the darkness in my heart, I'm way to lucky to have you in my life. Now lets get back to sleep, don't want to let you start to look like that nickname of yours." He says then feels a strong punch to his gut that makes him double over. 

Tsukuyo then walks back to the bedroom while GIntoki recovers. He then joins her in the futon and eventually falls back asleep. This time however, the sight before his eyes is a wide plain filled every person he's meet while on his journey. All looking towards him with smiles on their faces. Then he feels a hand grasp his, he looks and finds Tsukuyo smiling up at him then pulling him towards the people who have filled his soul, and painted it a sparkling silver. 

Then the image whites out and he wakes up again. 

-Fin-


End file.
